Last post from Bulgaria!!

Even though the kids went to bed early they slept in until just about 7!  Typical breakfast routine; Martin sat in the bath tub this morning, too!  YAY! He needed to be prompted in Bulgarian to sit down then needed physical help but did not resist at all.  I poured water in front of him, not too high and kept it in the same spot each time.  One time he got brave and put his hand under the water but other than that his hands stayed glued to the sides of the tub.  Deyan was, of course, jealous/upset/snotty about Martin being in the tub and me playing with him.  He was told he has to share the tub and his “rie rie” and he actually pouted a bit!  Little stinker.

After some packing done by papa we packed up the kids and walked to a traditional Bulgarian restaurant.  Martin was overwhelmed and scared so dad took him back to the hotel while James and I stayed with Deyan.  Luckily we had 2 Humana yogurt things in the diaper bag because it took close to 40 mins to get our food and the woman misunderstood that we wanted a baked potato with cheese and we got fried potatoes.  James and I enjoyed them but once our food came, the most delish fire roasted pork on a spit I’ve ever had!!!!, I was able to communicate that we wanted a baked potato with cheese, but instead of cheese we got butter.  That worked well for Deyan, though.  He ate the equivalent of 1 medium sized potato plus 2 rich in nutrient yogurts.  He was a bit squirmy throughout but  nothing that couldn’t be handled with some one on one time.   Our meal took longer than we planned and dad came in right as the woman was boxing up the left overs.  He had gotten a cab tour set up through the hotel.

This was the best tour I’ve ever done in a foreign country.  Our driver, Dmitri, is Russian by blood, grew up in Bulgaria and spoke FANTASTIC English!  He’s married and wants to have children and was sooooooooo good with both boys.  He would turn around and tickle them and talk to them, he drove us around for close to 3 hours showing us all the sights and telling us about the history behind all of it.  He also took us to a church that was built in the 10^th century.  While on our drive up to the church we stopped at Starbucks, which was nice but very different from the ones in the States.  Luckily the barista spoke English and was able to tell me what they did and didn’t do.  It took close to 10 mins just for a drip coffee and an iced green tea.  Deyan fell asleep on my lap while playing with my hands.  He put my hands over his in a praying position and then fell asleep on my lap.  I LOVED it.  Plus Martin had his hand on mine and it was so sweet.  I asked James to take a picture so we’ll see how it turned out! 

After we got back to the hotel we did some more packing and played with the boys.  Deyan loves to stand on the bed and have your thumbs to stand up, comes in for a hug then puts both of his hands up and falls backwards.  I always have my hands on his back or sides as he’s going down, just in case, but he laughs and LOVES it.  So MAMA BE WARNED..HE WILL TRY THAT AT HOME!!!  When I ask for a kiss in Bulgarian he will sometimes give me his face, sometimes pucker up and sometimes pull away.  Sometimes he just sits there and I take a kiss from him. J  He’s spontaneously come up and put his mouth and lips on me 2 times tonight and I tell him in Bulgarian “thank you for the kiss!” 

I am so glad that I know what Bulgarian I do know.  I will keep studying the phrases because I know they will come in handy at home.  They respond well when some things are in Bulgarian. 

I went down to get the passports and visas with Martin while James had Deyan in the tub and papa was at the Billa. (grocery store) Martin, the man with the passports and such, went right over to baby Martin and picked him up, talked to him and joked with me that the passports were his.  I joked back and said they were mine and that baby Martin was mine; he laughed and we shared a moment with baby Martin.  Then the hotel did something so sweet.  The receptionist came from behind the counter and gave me a bag of goodies for the boys.  She told me that the Mickey Mouse stuffed animal was specially for Martin and that Winnie the Pooh was for Deyan.  There was also a bag for each boy of chocolates.  Then when I got back up to the room, another person brought up a plate of dessert pastries for us, as a congrats J  I don’t know if this is typical but it was very sweet and much much appreciated! 

After another quiet evening and bath the boys were ready for bed; I went down to the restaurant and here I sit, typing and eating my last dinner..Shopska sala and spick Hungarian goulash and beer.  We are up at 4:30am tomorrow for a LONG travel day.  I am very excited to be home and see my husband and dog as well as Jake, Joey, Matt, Emily, Julie and baby Allie. 

Prost to a safe, easy, calm and stress free near 18 hours of travel!

Deuces everyone J